The age of austerity has challenges - but the networked age is full of opportunity

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Recently, North London Cares was invited to contribute to the launch and then a hearing of the Commission on the Voluntary Sector and Ageing. It's great to have a voice in this type of national forum to speak about our experience on the ground matching young professional volunteers to older neighbours to help combat isolation. Because even in an "age of austerity", there's so much to be positive about - so many opportunities of the networked age that we at NLC try to tap into every day.

Yes, as we've written before, the future may bring a perfect storm for older people. The biggest generation in history is reaching retirement age right at a time when people are living longer than ever, and the welfare, pensions and other statutory systems designed to give people dignity in later life are creaking under pressure.

Add to this reality potentially lower tax takes, an NHS with funding questions ahead, and deep health challenges such as dementia and loneliness and you have a problem which could become the defining challenge of our time.

At North London Cares, we believe that the isolation of older people is particularly pronounced in dense urban conurbations.

The medium-term trends which are entrenching loneliness are compounded by longer-term - and sometimes uncontrollable - trends of globalisation, gentrification, migration and rapidly spiking house prices, which combined are changing communities in a way which makes many older people ever more anxious.

And yet, on the flip side, we've got a lot to be inspired by and hopeful for as we face these challenges.

For starters, the biggest generation in history is reaching retirement age! And people are living longer than ever! With all the wisdom, learning, time, skill, playfulness, liberation, experience and creativity that comes with that, there's so much to be excited about. Meanwhile, digital media enables us to make new connections in new ways, to learn new things, and to share knowledge in an instant. Increasingly, people can see that in this complicated world, our prospects are all tied up together. In this context, horizons stretch.

But we do need to find a way to connect these assets to one another. The internet is part of it. If we can get more older people online and support their innovation, new markets will open up, new ideas will burgeon, new products will be developed that will solve some of the challenges above. And as we study why so many people are living longer, we will surely make progress on curing diseases.

But more important than the scope of the internet alone (and especially for the conversation about the voluntary sector and how we can help improve the lives of our ageing population) is harnessing the power of real world social networks - groups of friends, families, communities, schools, businesses, faith groups, local authorities, and of course local voluntary groups. These are the places where trust collects. We need to disperse and share that trust as a way of tackling the isolation that occurs so often on our doorsteps.

That requires deploying not just people's "skills", but also their personalities - people's sense of humour, their sense of play, their sharp opinions and their warmth towards others. Everyone has those qualities; what North London Cares seeks to do is bring them together, and provide a dynamic programme of interventions and interactions that help people to meet their emotional and social needs holistically.

That's why we run two core programmes. Our Love Your Neighbour programme matches individual young professionals in Camden and Islington to their older neigjhbours, close to where they live and work, to help them achieve practical tasks, or sometimes just to share a soap opera or a game of Scrabble. Meanwhile, our rovingSocial Clubs, hosted by our volunteers in community centres, businesses and public spaces from Kilburn to King's Cross, Frognal to Finsbury, provide an anchor of interaction and fun for all.

We hope this integrated programme can provide something for everyone. If you'd like to join in and be part of the community, just let us know. For more on the Commission on the Voluntary Sector and ageing, click here.